heroes of haradon:bane of corruption
by ismansrevenge
Summary: Isaiah and jack are two ordinary brothers living an ordinary life. But everything changes when they are taken from their normal lives on planet earth, and thrown into the magical world of haradon. Join them on their journey through the mysterious world of haradon, finding out more about their mysterious past, learning to fight and the occasional party or 2.
1. Chapter 1

(Hello everyone, I would firstly like to thank you for clicking on this story, and would secondly like to say that before you begin reading, the action on Haradon will begin on chapters 3 and on. I hope you enjoy my story and would like to say that I came up with this story long before I ever found out about the darksiders games, and when I saw the darksiders games, I was overjoyed and got even more inspiration for the story from the games. Also, if I don't really describe death and war to much, its because if your reading this, you know what they look like. anyways, enjoy the story and please, if you have any comments or concerns, feel free to message me! other than that, enjoy the story!)

-ismansrevenge

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><p>"What is your destine...little one? What is your fate?"<p>

Isaiah could not answer, his mind working to wrap itself around the word. "Destiny? What's that papa?" Isaiah asked, smiling up at his father, tiny hands clutching his fathers thumb. Reclining against his fathers chest, the young, 5 year old, black haired Isaiah sat comfortably in his fathers lap. "Why, my little _oopachi_, it is the very thing that men seek. Everyone wants to know their destiny, their fate in this world. Don't you want to know what your going to be when you grow up?" Isaiah could not answer his father, squealing and laughing in delight as his father tickled him. A soft chuckle made it's way towards Isaiah's ear, perhaps the happiest thing Isaiah had ever heard.

His fathers soothing, deep and calm voice formed a chuckle that brought a smile to Isaiah's little face. Isaiah would've asked his father some more questions, had his mother not laid Jack, his red headed, 5 year old brother beside him. "Mom!" Isaiah whined, attempting to push Jack off of their father, while Jack did the same to Isaiah. "It's my turn Isaiah!" Jack whined, his face contorting into a smile as he saw their mother pick Isaiah up and set him down on the ground. "Don't pout Isaiah, you had your turn. You need to share with your brother." Their mother chided, smiling at them with a face like an angels. "Yes, sharing is caring, after all." Their father rumbled happily, bouncing Jack on knee. "I do know how to share! With me, myself and I!" Isaiah retorted, his fave forming into a cute pout from which only succeeded in having his mother kiss his cheek.

"Now now, settle down. You can both sit on my lap equally." Their father said, scooping Isaiah up in his arm and setting him on his other leg, across from Jack who was happily bouncing on their fathers knee. "It seems that my little _oopachi_ and _tyoupi_ have a long road ahead of them. Fate will guide you to where your destiny leads. I can see it in your eyes. You wi be great, great heroes. I only hope I can live long enough to see you become the strong men I know you will be. You will make your mother and I proud, won't you?" Isaiah and Jack immediately nodded, hugging their father tightly. "We promise to make you proud, papa!" They said in unison. Truly did the little ones have a long road...one filled with hardships and losses, gifts and happiness. Truly...they would make their father proud.

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><p>12 years later, in a small town in modern day Tokyo<p>

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><p>"Hello there . How's your flower garden going?" Isaiah greeted as he and his brother walked by, coming home from a intense basketball game. Fit, tall and handsome, the brothers for what would be a normal teenage guy looked like. Isaiah, was around 5,8-6,0, with straight, short black hair he never really needed to comb. Jack, his brother, was a goofball, around the same height but with fiery red, messy hair. "Oh! Hello there boys! The garden is going great!" The old woman said, smiling a cheery smile as she motioned around her. Indeed, her flower garden was indeed coming together nicely, roses and dandelions blooming all around her and her house. So far she only had roses and dandelions, but she hoped to have a tricking garden of exotic and wonderful flowers. "It looks beautiful ." Isaiah complimented, stopping for a second to admire her hard work.<p>

, a small, kind lady at the ripe old age of 74, was the nicest woman around. "How did the game go? I assume you won?" asked, a happy grin on her face. "Of course we did! We kicked their butts!" Jack cheered, continuing down the street. "Oh goody!" She said, fist bumping Isaiah. "Make sure to keep kicking butt. I expect a win in stream from you." She said, teasingly waggling a finger at Isaiah, who smiled and nodded. "Don't you worry, as long as we have some of your pie, we can win against anyone!" nodded, waving goodbye as he continued on his way. It was no secret that made perhaps the best pie in all of Tokyo. Many pie making factories, companies and markets had offered her a job as their pie maker, even offering a large sum of money for her recipe at the least. She declined them all, saying that if anyone were to know her recipe, it would be Isaiah and Jack, who she treated and cared for as her own sons.

Isaiah and Jack had a little to much fun with the offers they received, demanding the people do stupid and funny challenges to get the recipe, only to get nothin but their angry faces on youtube. To some companies, they did give them the recipe...a fake recipe, that is. With the money pocketed, the companies could do nothing but sit back and watch the boys laugh at their stupidity. "Wait for me Jack!" Isaiah called, running around the corner, chasing after his brother. Jack hadn't gotten very far, taking his time as he walked along the sidewalk, towards their house. Their house lay at the end of a street corner, a small 2 story house with an old apple tree leaning against one side of it. A comfortable bench sat beneath the trees foliage, a perfect spot to relax in the shade during hot, summer days. White walls, gray roof and a cozy backyard full of green grass and some dandelions that had been kind enough to give them.

"Ah...home sweet home..." Jack mumbled to himself upon entering, promptly throwing himself into the nearest couch and falling asleep. "Jack...dude come on man don't fall asleep on the couch...your all sweaty and smelly..." Isaiah whined, watching Jack curl up, face buried in a pillow. Sighing, Isaiah smiled a bit, going up the stairs to his bedroom. Setting his backpack next to his bed, he took a quick shower before heading back downstairs in blue, work out shorts and a red tank top. To no surprise, Jack was still fast asleep, hugging a pillow close. Sighing, Isaiah decided to let him sleep in, not in the mood to deal with Jack's annoying antics. "Well...let's see what chores I have." Isaiah muttered, taking out a notepad from his pocket. Isaiah groaned unhappily when he saw his chores. Jack should be helping him with the chores, but being the lazy bun he was, he'd rather sleep. "Well...let's get to work."

Isaiah began with cleaning the house, which he did pretty often. Vacuuming the carpets, washing the windows, bathrooms and kitchen. Fixing Jacks, and his own bedroom, Isaiah was exhausted, sheathing his handy cleaning supplies back into the closet from which they came. "Finally...I'm done..." He mumbled, laying down on his bed, closing his eyes tiredly. "I think I'll take a nap..." He mumbled, yawning as he got comfortable on the bed. Isaiah's stomach growled suddenly, startling him from his ever so wanted sleep. "Ugh...that's right...I gotta make dinner." Heading back downstairs, he found Jack playing black ops 2, TDM. Heatedly barking out orders, Jack was to busy to notice his brother as he went into he kitchen, behind him. Isaiah got to work immediately, setting out some ingredients before beginning his work.

Isaiah, having taken an interest in cooking, decided that tonight, he would go with some Italian. What would he make? Stuffed-Chicken Marsala. Sautéed chicken breasts stuffed with Italian cheeses and sun-dried tomatoes, topped with mushrooms and a creamy Marsala sauce. (Served with garlic Parmesan mashed potatoes)

It wasn't long before the food was hot and ready, sitting peacefully on shining white plates. Isaiah grinned as he set the food down on the dinner table, more than happy with his creation. "Jack! Dinners ready!" He called, already knowing he couldn't hear him over the sound of bullets and squeakers yelling into the mic. Setting down some orange juice, napkins, forks and knives, he turned towards the living room from which Jack was. Making his way towards it, he walked up to his brother, roughly pushing him with his knee. Jack growled in annoyance by continued to play, not caring much for what Isaiah wanted. "Yo, Jack, dinners ready." Isaiah yelled over the racket, trying to get his stubborn brother to listen. His attempts were to no avail, as Jack continued to ignore him, no matter how hard he punched his arm. Eventually, Isaiah gave up, walking back to the dinner table where he enjoyed the meal by himself.

Grabbing the remote control for the television, Isaiah switched on the TV. Almost immediately he face-palmed at the words he heard coming from the television set. "-that's why I think Obama is the devil." Was the first words Isaiah heard when he switched to the news channel. "Riveting detail and information. Thank you Mr. Juarez, for your detailed speech. We were happy to have you." A woman said, smiling as she shook the mans hand before watching him leave. Turning back to the camera, she began to talk once again, as if the things she just said had no effect on her. "On tonights 7 o'clock news, we bring you a friend of ours named Ollie, our new weather forecaster. Ollie is currently in Florida, let's check in on him shall we? How are you doing over there Ollie?"

The tv switched to that of a different camera, one showing a chubby African American man wearing a yellow rain coat, looking not to pleased. "ITS RAINING!" Ollie yelled, the camera quickly shifting back to the news lady. "I'm sorry about that. Can you tell me how bad it is from a scale of 1 to 10?"

Thunder boomed behind Ollie as the camera once again shifted back to him. Ollie didn't respond for a while, staring at the camera without blinking before suddenly yelling his answer.

"THAT THUNDER SCARED ME! I POOPED MY PANTS! APPLE!"

"That bad huh? Is there anything you'd like?"

"SOUP!" Ollie replied, his hat being swept away by the wind.

"What kind of soup?"

"CLAM CHOWDER!"

"Alright, we'll get that out to you ASAP. Thanks Ollie."

"ITS RAINING SIDEWAYS!"

The camera stayed on the news lady this time, no longer showing Ollie, which greatly disappointed Isaiah who was laughing so hard he couldn't breathe. The news lady was also giggling, seeming to have a very hard time keeping herself from bursting out laughing as well. "On further news..." The news lady stopped short, putting a hand over her mouth as she tried hard to stifle her laughter. The cameraman and other people behind the set were also laughing, unable to keep themselves together. "We'll...we'll be right back after these commercials..." The news lady said, laughing as the news faded into the commercials. Isaiah smiled as he also finished laughing, lowering the volume on the tv before finishing his meal. Jack, still heatedly playing his game, took no heed of Isaiah when he walked by, making his way upstairs.

Back in the quiet, comfort of his room, Isaiah relaxed on his bed, closing his tired eyes. "What a day..." Isaiah mumbled, feeling sleep knocking at his door. "Maybe I'll take a quick...quick nap...than I'll go and make sure Jack eats his food...yea...that's what I'll do." He muttered softly, feeling himself slip away, into blissful sleep.

Isaiah slowly opened his eyes, yawning as he sat up. "Man...I slept pretty well..." He mumbled, looking around. Wait...he didn't see anything. It was completely dark around him. Normally he would've been fine, simply getting and turning on his bedside lamp, or checking the time to see that it was really early in the morning or still late in the night. However, he couldn't. Isaiah felt himself look around, blindly touching the ground and air to get a feel of where he was. _"Interesting...you do not fear the dark...but you soon will. They always do."_ A deep, gruff voice hissed in the darkness, resembling the voice of smaug. Isaiah looked around, trying to find the source of the voice. "Hello. Who are you?" Isaiah asked calmly, curious as to who had spoken. "_Curious little creature aren't you?"_ The voice spoke again, a soft chuckle following it.

Green flames sprouted in the darkness, moving across Isaiah's vision like a snake. The flames outlined the form of a massive creature, a dragon. The dragons head alone towered over him, teeth twice the size of his body. The green flames outlined the dragon, showing it's black scales that seemed like endless voids of darkness. Horns sprouted from the top of its head, curving up and out, towards Isaiah. "_Hello...boy. You seem to not recognize me...strange..."_ The dragon muttered, it's head coming closer. "_I am Corruption...once the rightful lord of Haradon, rightful ruler of this wretched planet you call earth."_ Isaiah sighed, feeling a bit uneasy. This dream seemed to real, to much as I it was really happening. "I don't care, go away." He muttered, waving his hand at the dragon. Normally, in his dreams, Savin his hand would dispel the dream or creature that Isaiah was facing, allowing him to relax in a comfy dream world. Now, however, it did nothin but make the dragon laugh.

"_You stupid...stupid human...I am not some dream you can simply whisk away with a wave of your hand. I am a living nightmare, having lived throughout the ages of time. You will not dispel me with a wave of your hand. You, child, will come to me. You will join me, you will feel power and you will have the spoils of a thousand kingdoms."_ Isaiah suddenly felt fearful, felt small and weak. Terror ran through his veins, a cold feeling slithering through his body. _"Fear me..."_ The dragon whispered, it's eyes glowing green as it stared into Isaiah's eyes. Isaiah couldn't blink , couldn't close his eyes. He could only stare into those cold, lifeless orbs that promised chaos, pain and suffering. Isaiah could only stare in horror as the dragon showed him images that no man should ever be shown. His brother, being torn apart, screaming and crying in pain. Than being reformed and killed in another greusome way. The dragon showed , smiling in her garden, only to have the plants entangle her and slowly crush her. "No...no...NOOOOO!" Isaiah yelled, the images abruptly stopping, his vision blurring with he purest white. "W-what..." Isaiah muttered in confusion, his eyes stinging as he covered them protectively with his hand. "Shhh...it's alright...he can't hurt you anymore..." A soft, caring voice whispered. A woman, dressed in white appeared before him, a soft smile on her face. "Sleep now. Your adventures are only beginning. Rest." She said, Isaiah suddenly feeling at peace, calm and relaxed. "Yea...sleep..." He mumbled, unable to stay awake to ask her who she was, or what was happening.

Isaiah weakly reached up to try and stop her from leaving, wanting answers, but he simply closed his eyes and fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Isaiah groaned, clutching his head. "Oh crap...my head hurts...oh...that doesn't feel good at all..." He mumbled, his eyes slowly opening. He only saw darkness, and for a moment, Isaiah felt hi heart racing, hearing the words of the dragon that called itself corruption. His eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, showing his room, and the clock that shown brightly in the darkness. Looking at it, he saw that the time was 3:00 am, early in the morning. Groaning, Isaiah slowly sat up, hissing in pain that flared in his head. Siting up, Isaiah moved to stand, his legs feeling weak and wobbly as he stood. "God that was a weird dream..." As much as he wanted it to be a dream, he had to admit that he was fearful. That dream seemed to real, to realistic. In his dreams he was always a bad ass, the winner, the hero who destroyed his opponents. But that dragon sapped his energy, his willpower. It had inflicted fear upon him that he had never felt before.

Shaking his head, Isaiah decided it would be better to not dwell on it, knowing that if he did he would only confuse himself more and keep running into a dead end. But how could he let it go so easily? He simply couldn't forget that a dragon had spoken to him, a dream dragon that had acted and seemed a bit to real to be fake. Wait! There was a way for him to figure it out! Of course! Why hadn't he thought of it sooner?! Hobbling to the other side of his room, he sat at a small desk with a laptop on it. Flipping open the laptop, Isaiah typed in his password before quickly clicking on the fire fox icon (because screw internet explorer). Isaiah quickly typed into the search bar, 'corruption'. Immediately thousands of sites appeared, but they weren't what Isaiah wanted. Scrolling through them, nothing caught his eye, nothing that would give him answers at least. "Corruption. Want to know why the devil is our president? Obama is the source of our economic corruption." Isaiah read, rolling his eyes an face-palming. "No, website, I could care less why you think he is the devil. Give me answers!" He groaned with frustration.

Isaiah decided that simply 'corruption' wasn't enough. He had to narrow down his field of searching, so he tried again. "Corruption, the black dragon" Isaiah read as he typed it in. The websites that appeared this time were much more helpful. As he scrolled through, he laughed at some of the suggestions the computer gave him. "Did you mean, American dragon jake long? No, but I haven't seen that show in a long time, I loved that show and I'll come back to you later." Isaiah muttered, bookmarking the site for future reference. Continuing his search, he found multiple sites that all stated the same thing in one form or another.

"Corruption, a black dragon of death. Formed at the beginning of time, corruption is the manifestation of pure evil, of destruction an chaos. Feeding off of sorrow, pain, death and chaos, Corruption grows more powerful by inflicting pain upon others. Weaving lies an rumors, Corruption forms a web of chaos that destroys everything within while he gorges himself upon their pain, laughing at their misery. So great is he that he cannot be killed. His mortal form can be taken from him, but corruption cannot be killed. He lives on in the minds of man, continuing to whisper into their ears, destroying them from within." Isaiah read, sighing as he finished.

"Creepy, weird and just straight out strange information. How is this supposed to help me?" Isaiah asked himself, staring at the computer as if expecting an answer. Of course, he got none and he was left to his unhappy and jumbled thoughts. Shaking his head, he decided it was no use to simply sit there, wondering and waiting for answers they wouldn't come. He had to distract his mind or he would be stuck thinking about that stupid dragon all day. Getting up from his comfortable seat, Isaiah made his way downstairs to the kitchen, getting ready to prepare breakfast. "Morning sleepy head." Jack greeted, smiling at his brother while he room a bite out of perhaps the most weirdest and disgusting thin anyone could imagine. Oreos, somewhat burnt waffles, pop tarts, tootsie rolls, frosted flake cereal, Doritos all smushed in between 2 slices of hot pizza. Isaiah groaned and looked away, face-palming at his brothers stupid antics.

"Come on dude...not again...your going to be vomiting and have serious diarrhea if you keep eating that. For all we know, you got diabetes from that single bite." Isaiah chided, walking up to his brother. Chewing and swallowing, Jack smiled goofily up at Isaiah. "Hey man, it tastes pretty good. Sugary, sweet, cheesy, crunchy and soft. It's pretty much heaven man." Isaiah sighed and walked back into the kitchen, leaving Jack to enjoy his disgusting meal in the dining room. "I'll make myself something edible. Hmm...let's see what's on the menu..."

Isaiah began to look around, his eyes catching some left over corned beef. Smiling, Isaiah took it and heated it up. Pairing it with sautéed onions and potatoes, Isaiah finished it off with some deliciously melted cheddar cheese and a fried egg to cover it. Smiling at his creation, Isaiah sat beside his brother, taking a bite out of his delicious food. "Mmm..." Isaiah mumbled in delight. Jack turned the TV on, rolling his eyes at his brother. "You and your food that won't give you diarrhea." Jack muttered in disgust, taking another messy bite from his creation. Isaiah watched Jack scroll through the channels, ignoring everything that caught Isaiah's eye.

"Today on-"

"Watch Derek make-"

"Imagine the-"

"Breaking news!-"

"Cook better with-"

"Que pasa con mi-"

Isaiah nearly punched Jack, snatching the control out of his hand and switching back to the news channel. "Hey, what the-" Jack was shut up when Isaiah smacked his hand over his mouth. "Shut...up..." Isaiah hissed, turning his attention back to the TV. Sure enough, something big was happening. "-spotted heading towards Tokyo. It is said these meteors won't cause much trouble, though we advise you to stay indoors while the meteor strike occurs. Make sure to not panic. The meteors will leave a few scorch marks on the ground, maybe mess up your garden, but they won't do serious damage." The man said, smiling at the camera. The smile was wiped from his face as a man leaned in to whisper something into his ear. "Oh...uh...it seems that things have changed. The meteors...are bigger then expected. They will...oh god...we need you to evacuate. Head to your nearest bomb shelter, quickly! You have some-" the man never got to finish, nor would he ever, as a meteor the size of a football struck the news building, sending out a sonic boom. The ground shook at the force of the collision, leaving the brothers more than afraid.

Taking the mans advice, Isaiah ran outside with his brother, his goal being to get to the nearest bomb shelter, which was conveniently located miles away. "Dude...look..." Jack muttered, pointing to the sky as they saw meteors heading for the earth, for them. The meteors hissed angrily as they barreled through the sky, green fumes emitting from them. These weren't normal meteors. They were sent by someone, for a reason. Isaiah and Jack would've taken cover, had a meteor as big as a minivan not struck the ground a few feet away from them, sending them flying through the air, skin burning as the hit the ground hard. Knocked unconscious, the brothers saw only darkness, unable to stay awake as the world around them burned.

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><p>"Go...you have your orders...you know what to do...do not fail us." A stone giant growled, it's mouth hanging open as it spoke, never closing. Flames burned inside their mouths as they spoke, only the heads of the giants peeking above the lava that they dwelled in. 3 figure stood before him on a small, rocky platform. 3 figures, better known as the horsemen of the apocalypse, hopped into the lava, their forms disappearing before instantly, before they were suddenly barreling through the sky, on their way to earth.<p>

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><p>"Wake up...wake up..." A voice whispered, Isaiah groaning in protest. "Wake up little one...it's time to wake up..." Isaiah's eyes slowly opened, greeted by the soft shine of the moon. "What...what happened?" Isaiah muttered in confusion, his body aching in pain. "You will meet unlikely allies. Tread carefully, for your life is about to get much weirder, very quickly. Find a tavern known as the laughing wolf pub. You will find shelter there. Big Bertha should help you, if you prove yourself worthy. Do not fail, my sweet <em>oopachi.<em>" A voice whispered into his mind, before disappearing. "Who is saying...that..." Isaiah began to ask, his voice slowly fading as he saw the carnage around him. He now remembered what had happened. The meteors...the explosion...Jack! Isaiah, although very much in pain, slowly stood up, looking for his brother. "Jack! Jack where are you?!" Isaiah called, his worry growing with each passing second. Fortunately, Jack groaned in protest, knocked out a few feet from Isaiah. "No...I don't want to wake up...let me sleep in dude...school isn't that important anyways...yolo..."

Isaiah stumbled over to his brother, coughing as he noticed the smoke that was gathered around them from the burning buildings. "Jack...Jack wake up...we gotta go man..." Isaiah said, smacking his brothers cheeks to wake him up. Jack woke up quickly, sitting up and groaning. "Dude...I told you that-" he stopped speaking when his eyes finally registered the carnage before him.

"Oh crap..." He muttered, slowly standing up. "What happened?" Jack asked, looking around. Bodies lay all around, burnt and charred. Buildings were destroyed, crushed and broken. Blood was splattered all around them, staining the ground with its crimson color. Isaiah shook his head, closing his eyes. "This isn't happening...this isn't happening..." Isaiah muttered to himself, holding his head in his hands. Jack opened his mouth to say something, though he was cut off as a soft booming echoed across the destroyed town. The booms became louder, heeding their way. Isaiah and Jack looked around, but with the buildings destroyed, there was no where to hide from the thing headed there way.

From the smoke came a figure, tall and proud, very muscular with a red cowl over his head. White locks of hair came down from the cowl, the only things seen being his Snow White eyes, mouth and nose. The red cowl was tattered and torn in some areas, burnt in others. "Survivors..." A croaking, deep, British like voice growled. "Jack...maybe we should-" Isaiah began to say, a rough, cold hand being placed on their shoulders. "Run?" Another voice finished for them, it's cold tone sending shivers down the boys spines. Shoved forward, Jack and Isaiah stumbled for a moment before catching themselves again, standing straight and looking behind them. There, Rambo style, stood a shirtless man with grey, ashen skin, torn shorts, and twin scythes in his hands. Covering his face was a bleached white skull, black, messy hair falling down the sides of his head, the only part of the face beneath the mask able to be seen, being beady eyes that stared at them with an emotionlessly cold glare.

Black, blurry smoke hissed and bubbled up from the floor besides the brothers, slowly rising and changing form, connecting together, rising into the air. Slowly but surely the smoke gathered together and formed a robed figure, standing before Isaiah and Jack. Similar to the grim reaper, was a robed figure, a torn, mucky green hood which went over its head, casting a ominous shadow which blocked any view of its face. "How are they alive?" The robed figure hissed, it's voice sounding like blades grinding together, nails clawing against a chalk board, sending shivers down Isaiah's and Jacks spines. "I don't know, but what I do know, is that they shouldn't be alive. How about we finish the job?" The muscled, tall and armored figure growled, white eyes staring at them with hatred. A powerful looking gauntlet raised a long blade into the air, as if preparing to throw it at them, only to be stopped by the man with the twin scythes.

"War! Stop! Look at them..." The shirtless man growled, somehow stopping the larger mans throw by grasping the gauntlet. "Look at them? I am! They are worthless earthlings! Are we not supposed-" War was cut off by, what Isaiah guessed, was the robed figures laugh. Hissing like a snake, with rocks grinding together. "Oh War...you are as stupid and thick-headed as ever I see..." The robed figure hissed. "Say that again you mud licking, crow eating frog..." the man with the twin scythes studied Isaiah and Jack, his beady eyes analyzing them.

"Gentlemen, tell me, what do you see inside of them?" War turned towards the man with the twin scythes, rolling his eyes. "Death, they are nothing but-" War stopped speaking, pearly white eyes staring at Isaiah, than Jack, and back again. "No...no...it's some sort of illusion. There is no possible way that they are..." War bit his lip, growling angrily. "The council was right. We did find them." Death chuckled, his laugh monotone and void of emotion.

A moment of silence passed before anyone spoke. "Child of man, your lives are about to get much, much more interesting than you can ever imagine." Death said, his voice steely cold. "WAR!" Death barked, looking to his massive brother. "You know what to do. Take them to the laughing wolf pub. We're gonna need big Bertha to see them." Death, without a second thought, was gone, simply having disappeared in a flash. His brother, famine, had similarly disappeared though the brothers got a glimpse of him, before he vanished into thin air. The brothers were left alone, with the very unhappy horsemen of War. A few moments of silence followed before Sean decided to speak up.

"So...how's it going?"

"I hate you so much." War replied, his white eyes glaring daggers at the brothers.

A minute passed before the horsemen spoke. "Now...I need to send you somewhere, and get you there alive...and I can do that with a flick of my wrist...but that wouldn't be fun." An evil grin spread across the horsemens face. "So, if your gonna ever make it to Haradon alive and prove yourself, your gonna need to do this..."


	3. Chapter 3

"WELCOME ONE AND ALL TO TENNŌJI ZOO!" A woman's voice rang through the air, coming out of microphones that towered over the double doors which lead into the facility. Hundreds of people streamed through large, oak double doors that were wide open. Cars pulled up to the curb, people jumping out, some getting in. "There's a lot of people here..." Jack mumbled, running a hand through his fiery orange hair. His brother, Isaiah, nodded in agreement, not at all looking forward to what they had to do. "Well I mean if we're gonna be here, we might as well enjoy it right?" Isaiah mumbled, short black hair being ruffled by his own hand. The brothers made their way trough the oaken doors, stopping halfway in to be checked. "Hey, you know you can't have outside food right?" The man that was checking their backpacks was saying, holding up a bag of candy. Isaiah looked to his brother, not surprised, but not happy. "Hey, I get hungry easily alright? Sometimes it's easier to just reach in and pull out some energy snacks you know?"

Isaiah's sea green eyes turned to Jacks playful blue eyes. A hand shot out and grabbed a pack of m&ms, holding it up for the red haired goofball to see. "Jack, m&ms don't give you energy. They make you fat." Jack, after finishing the cookie he was eating, nodded his head and picked up another pack of candies. "Your right. Twizzlers it is." A hand snatched the candy away, stuffing it back into the bag. "Sir, I'm sorry but you can't take outside food into the zoo." Jack frowned, but nodded his head in defeat. The man checking their bags took out the candy and set it all in another bag, which was taken away by another guy, probably to be thrown away or given to someone else, maybe even sold. "Have a good day. And we're having a sale on our famous banana-nana smoothie, so make sure to go check it out. It's banana-nana good!" The bag checker said, obviously rehearsed as he put on a tired smile.

Jack and Isaiah made their way through the bag check, finally entering the zoo. People bustled around them in a large crowd. Families hurriedly rushed in, their children running excitedly in front of them, sun screen making their small faces a Snow White, with little hats on their heads. Teenagers also bustled in. Couples holding hands, friends staying together, and the occasional student trying to finish their school paper at the last minute. "Hey, look, their selling balloon swords!" Jack excitedly exclaimed, running over to a vendor stand. Isaiah slowly followed, almost tripping on a overly excited kid. After the parents apologized, Isaiah walked up to jack, who was happily swinging a large ballon sword around, imitating the clashing of metal.

"Jack, put that down, your gonna pop it if you keep swinging it around like that." Isaiah scolded, looking around. "Oh come on man, loosen up would you? I'm not gonna-" jacks voice was cut off as the balloon was swung into a pointy sculpture of a elephant, popping on its sharp tusks with a loud bang. A moment of silence followed as jack turned towards Isaiah. "Uh..." Throwing the remnants of the popped baloon at his brother, jack made a run for it, disappearing into the crowd before Isaiah could catch him. "HEY! YOUR GONNA HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT!" The vendor growled. Sighing, the black haired boy pulled out a few dollars and handed him the money. A grunt stated that their business was done, and Isaiah was quick to run after his brother.

"So, wondering if you ladies had any tape." Isaiah heard as he spotted his brother, who was talking to a group of girls. "Why would you need tape?" One of them asked, confused. Jack flexed his arms and grinned. "Because I'm ripped!" None of the girls seemed impressed, in fact most of them looked bored, as if they had seen it a million times before. "Dammit jack, are you harassing people again? I told you before haven't i? Not everyone gets your sense of humor." Isaiah scolded as he walked up to his brother. Jack could only grin happily, shaking his head. "Well I saw these-" jack was cut off, a hand shoving him to the side as the girls stepped forward, eyeing up the newcomer. "And who might you be?" One of them purred, obviously the leader of the group.

Long red hair fell down the girls back, sky blue eyes staring innocently up at Isaiah as she stepped forward. Sun kissed skin, a shade of milk chocolate shined in the sunlight. "Ah, hello there ladies. My name is Isaiah, and before anything else happens, allow me to apologize for my IDIOT-" Isaiah looked to his brother, pointedly glaring at him before continuing. "-Brother if he offended you in any way shape or form. He didn't mean anything he said, he's just a bit weird."

"Says the guy who writes fan-fiction..." Jack said loudly, dusting off his shirt. The group of girls completely ignored the red haired boy, keeping their attentions on Isaiah. The leader of the girls was confused at Isaiah's words, her eyes darting between the brothers in confusion.

"Your related? But your so..."

"Not stupid?" Isaiah offered.

The girl smiled and nodded. "That's one way to put it. You seem more calm, a bit more mature. While your brother..." Jack couldn't hear them, to busy trying to communicate with the monkeys to remember the girls right behind him. "He's...different. He's weird, his humors different than most, like mine. He's a nice guy once you get to know him. But his hearts in the right place. His mind, not so much." Isaiah joked, softly laughing, being joined by small giggles by the girls. "Anyways, my names Rachel, Rachel cavle. These are my friends." She motioned to the 4 other girls behind her. "This is Bonnie." She motioned to a brown haired girl, who had chocolates brown eyes and white skin, a shy smile on her face. "Daphne and Katie." Rachel motioned to 2 other girls, who both had blonde hair with emerald green eyes. "And finally, my childhood friend, Bethany." Rachel motioned to the girl besides her, who had pitch black hair, intelligent, piercing brown eyes, an the same, sun kissed skin that Rachel had. "It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Isaiah said in return. "Anyways, we were heading to the rainforest cafe for lunch. You wouldn't be interested in coming with us, would you? Your brothers also invited, though as long as he promises to not say anymore of his horrible pickup lines." Rachel asked, her offer hanging in the air temptingly.

"Uh..." Isaiah, on a normal day, would've gladly said yes, but today wasn't a normal day. "Actually, we can't right now. We're writing a paper about how the creatures in zoos are taken care of. We're a bit busy with that, so maybe some other time alright?" Isaiah offered, mentally patting himself on the back for coming up with such w good lie on the spot. "Oh, ok." Rachel mumbled, a frown on her face and the rest of the girls. Than their smiles were quickly put back on as Rachel snapped her fingers. "Alright than, since your busy we won't bother you. But here-" Rachel pulled out a small card, with her number and the other girls numbers on it. "-call us whenever you get the chance, alright? See you around." Rachel cooed as she walked away, friends following. Bethany stayed behind a bit, looking Isaiah up and down before blushing and quickly following.

Once that was over and done with, Isaiah turned to his brother, who was making faces at a very confused silver back. "Hah, hey Isaiah, check this out. So I make faces, and-" jack was cut off as an apple smacked into his head, launched by the silverback himself. A wide grin spread across the gorillas face as he hooted happily, obviously laughing at jack. Isaiah also laughed, clutching his stomach as he laughed. "Ahahaha! Aha! You got an apple to the face! Ahahaahh!" Isaiah could barely contain his laughter. Of course, as fate would have it, an apple smacked into his head as well, his laughter turning to unhappy groan of pain. Now it was jacks turn to laugh, moving over to his brother who didn't seem to ecstatic about an apple to the head. Of course, the large silver back had found a new game, and was loading up on things to throw at them. The brothers were wise to move far away from the enclosure, though other unsuspecting victims weren't so lucky, and learned quickly that the gorilla enclosure wasn't the best place to be at the time. As they walked away, the two brothers began to talk, Isaiah waving the slip of paper mockingly in front of jack, who took the paper in awe.

"How did you get their numbers? Dude, I'm way better looking than you." Jack grumbled, looking at the numbers on the paper. Isaiah's hand snatched the paper away, a innocent smile on his face. "You know what they say man, you can catch flys with honey, but you can catch more honeys, being fly." Jack wanted to punch his brother, but he simply couldn't, and both broke down laughing before continuing on their way. Their smile were wiped from their faces as their backpacks buzzed softly, signaling they were nearing their destination. "Oh...right...forgot about that." Jack mumbled, his happy demeanor gone from him. Inside their backlands were bombs. Not normal bombs, strange, hissing green bombs that war, whatever that thing was, had warned them would blow up if they tired to disarm it or run from it. The blast radius was also more than 5 square miles, so out running the death trap probably wasn't gonna happen. However there was a way to not die, but it involved a chance of dying.

_"I could easily take you to the laughing wolf pub, but that would be to easy. If your really who you seem to be, you won't die finding the portal."_

That's what war had said before handing them backpacks full of bombs. How had candies ended up in jacks backpack? Still a mystery. But finding a portal shouldn't be hard right? Maybe difficult, but in the end it wasn't anything more threatening...right? WRONG. In fact when things seemed as if they couldn't get worse, they did. Not only was the portal hard to find, it was hard to enter. See, the portal was inside...of a hippo. Not only did they have to find the hippo that was the portal, but get swallowed by it without getting mauled to death or speared by the hippos large tusks.

The brothers made their unhappy way towards the hippo enclosure. Isaiah and jack soon came upon a large group of people who crowded around a enclosure. A glass fence, barred with metal, kept the innocent civilians from plunging 10 feet into cold waters where very large hippos swam in. The hippos were massive, even from a distance, and even though they were low to be ground, their large bodies were built like tanks. Their mouths were slightly agape, showing off the large, very deadly tusks. Some were broken, some were dull, while others had scars or cracks from past battles. One way or another, each hippo was menacing...except for the babies, which looked more like curious, confused purple jelly beans than a killer.

"We're really gonna do this aren't we?" Jack muttered, disbelief and a hint of fear in his voice. "It's either the hippos, or a fiery inferno. I don't know about you, but I'm gonna take my chances with the hippos." Isaiah grumbled, obviously not happy as he scanned the enclosure. Nothing seemed out of place. No hippo was abnormally large or was glowing a weird color to signal the portal. "This is impossible, how are we gonna find the portal if it's inside a hippo?" Jack grumbled, looking around at the creatures before sighing and looking away from them. Isaiah wanted to give up as well. The odds were against them, and just as he was about to suggest them trying to run away from the bombs in their backpacks, a soft tune was heard. The tune was soft, dulled, as if it was inside of something. Giving one more good lol around, Isaiah's eyes spotted something out of the ordinary. A certain hippo, lounging on the grassy ground, opened its mouth in wide yawn.

In doing so, the tune, which sounded like a soft flute being played, the melody soothing and even. "You hear that Jack?" Jack nodded in response to his brother, eyes already locked on the hippo. It's mouth closed again, however, and the music was dulled once more. "Guess we found our target..." Jack growled, keeping his eye on the hippo. "Any idea how we're gonna...you know..." Isaiah offered, glancing at Jack who simply shrugged. "Slather ourselves in grass and jump in? Maybe one of us could hold his jaw open while the other goes inside, and than the guys that's holding it open just slips in. Like those movies where the guy is holding the door open on his shoulders and everyone slides through, than he just lets go and dives through." Isaiah wasn't sure that Jack could hold the biting force of 1,821 pounds of force per square inch. Than again, that was only the biting force of a female. A males...well let's just say it's damn near impossible.

"I don't think holding up the mouth is gonna work. But nice try. Our best option might be to just...wait for it to yawn and than just dive in." The brothers argued about ways to get safely eaten by the hippo without being torn to shreds before deciding that, if they were gonna do this, they might as well go at the right time, when the mouth is wide open. So, they made their way around the enclosure, eventually finding what they were looking for. "Hey, sorry, but employees only." One of the keepers said as he opened the door that led to the hippo enclosure. "Oh come on, we just want to see a hippo-" Isaiah was cut off, as planned, by Jack rushing up from behind and whacking the keeper on the head with a chair, knocking him out. "Sorry." Isaiah mumbled as he got the keys to the door and opened it up. They dragged the keepers body inside, propping him up in a chair so he looked like he was asleep. A hat covering his eyes finished it off. Around them was cleaning equipment, snacks for the hippos, their food, everything. A large metal door was the only thing separating this small room from the hippos. "Guess we better get ready..."

The brothers took 15 minutes to get ready to...well to get eaten. They hyped themselves up, or at least tried to. "You ready dude?" Isaiah mumbled as he turned to his brother, who was mumbling uneasily to himself. "Yea...yea..." Jack murmured, both walking to the door. Sighing, they looked at each other once more, hearts hammering in their chests. "Let's do it." Jack growled, kicking open the door, Spartan style. Walking in, though he was terrified, Jack charged the hippo, like an angry bull. "FOR DRAGON AGE!" Jack bellowed, the startled hippo quickly turning to regard the charging boy. The hippo opened its mouth wide, as if allowing entry. Jack dive headfirst into the hippo, disappearing from sight with a pop. Onlookers seemed horrified, covering their mouths, while some screamed. Isaiah, rolling his eyes, did the same as his brother. Charging forward, Isaiah closed his eyes tightly, jumping into the maw of the beast.

Everything went dark, the flute playing softly as he was clamped down on by what felt like the inside of the hippo. It was wet, rubbery and didn't feel good. A few seconds of terrifying bumping, flute playing and squirming around in what could only be described as the most disgusting slide he had ever been in. A few seconds later, Isaiah slammed hard into something firm, his head and back flaring with pain. The sound of leaves softly rustling in the wind and the cool air of the night received a bit of the pain, the soft flute not helping as much as he had hoped. Wait a minute...- Isaiah scrambled up, ignoring the pain in his back as he cracked open his eyes. He was no longer inside of the hippo/portal, but kneeling on a field full of grass, large trees dotting the area around him. "Dude! Holy crap man! Can you believe it?!" Jacks voice blared like a horn in his ears. Isaiah grumbled and looked to his brother, not really sure what was happening. Their backpacks had disappeared the second they jumped into the hippos mouth. "What are you talking about?" Isaiah looked to his brother, rubbing the back of his head. Jack, with his typically goofy grin smiled as the flute stopped playing and a small man dropped from the tree that he sat under. "WERE IN SKYRIM!" Jack boomed happily.


	4. Chapter 4

Skyrim? Not exactly. Jack, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just gotten swallowed by a hippo and ended up God knows where, ran around trying to shoot fireballs. The little man that had dropped from the tree was sitting besides Isaiah, explaining to them where they were as best he could, a small flute besides him. The little man was no taller than 3 feet tall, wearing a bright green, fuzzy shirt with a red collar and red cuffs. On his small legs he wore the same, fuzzy green shorts, with a Tiny brown belt wrapping around his waist, keeping his shorts from falling. Black, fancy looking shoes carried him around, with long, knee high socks coming out of them. All in all, he looked like a really out of place elf, without the hat. His pale white face was a bit dirty, with some dirt smudged on his cheeks. "So, where are we exactly?" Isaiah asked, still trying to wrap his mind around what the little man was saying. Smiling, the little man motioned around them. "You are in the world of Haradon. The horsemen of war had appointed me to wait for you here. Oh dear, and where are my manners? My name is-" what followed was a series of sounds obviously not in the english language. Isaiah stared at the little man in confusion. "Pep. You can call me pep." The little man answered after seeing the confusion on the boy's face.

"Well hello there pep. I'm Isaiah, and that's my brother jack who is trying to...I don't even want to know." Pep nodded his head. "Yes, I know who you are. I hope me playing the flute made things a bit easier for you. War was against me doing it, but I knew you would've probably been eaten by the wrong hippo if I hadn't." Pep said, his voice high pitched, like a child's. "Thank you for doing that. So, are we inside the hippo right now or what?" Pep softly laughed, shaking his head. "No no, you were teleported through the cosmos to another dimension, ours. This is the world of Haradon, a land full of magic. I won't say anymore, as it would take years to explain everything. As for where we are at the moment, we are on the outskirts of a city called Titus-vale. If I am correct, war told you to seek out big Bertha in the laughing wolf pub, correct?" Jack interrupted Isaiah before he could speak, jumping in front of them and screaming like a banshee. Isaiah would've screamed like a girl, had pep not beaten him to it. "Dammit Jack!" The red haired boy only smiled, laughing at them. "Yes, , we were told to find big Bertha in the laughing wolf pub. I don't know where that is, but if we find a laughing wolf, I'll be sure to take it there straight away!" Jack laughed. Pep sighed, a smile on his lips as he chuckled lightly. "Well than, let's not waste any time. The laughing wolf pub is a lot closer then you may think." He said. Both brothers looked a bit confused as to what he meant, and stayed silent, following pep as he got up and walked down the hill.

The trio walked for a few minutes before they stood at the top of another hill, a dirt path cutting its way through the green grass and towards a large city. Farmland stretched for miles outside the cities massive walls, windmills and barns dotting the area. The walls that housed the massive city, were a dusty gray, encircling the stores and houses inside. Large double oak doors stood as gates, wide opened as people milled about, coming in and out. "Welcome, kids, to the sprawling city of Titus-vale!" Pep happily said, motioning to the large city in front of him. Jack and Isaiah stared in awe, Jack recovering much more quickly than his brother and sprinting down the hillside. "I'm coming white run!" Jack yelled, tripping halfway and rolling the rest of the way down the hill.

"Your brother is..." Pep made a face between confused, in thought and unsure. Isaiah could only sigh and nod his head. "Yea...I know...you don't need to tell me..." Pep smiled, his small hand patting Isaiah's leg before he to made his way down the hillside, Isaiah following. As they walked down the hill, Isaiah looked towards Pep, wondering what exactly he was. He wasn't sure if Pep was a midget or some alien. Either way, he didn't want to offend the only friendly person they have met so far. But, Isaiah's curiosity eventually won over. "Umm...hey Pep? Forgive me for my rudeness but uh...what exactly are you? I-I mean, with all due respect from where I come from, I've never seen someone of your...stature." Pep didn't answer for a few minutes, his curly brown hair bouncing with every step of his little legs. Isaiah was about to apologize before Pep spoke. "My race is...difficult to explain. Our origins, who we are and what we are is something not many know. Only close friends of my people are allowed the secrets of our race. But I will tell you as much I can without breaking the sacred laws I follow by." Pep stopped talking, seemingly collecting himself before once again speaking. "My people are what most refer to as 'gnomes'. That is not our name, but it seems that is our title, so we do not change it.

Us 'gnomes' are...descendants of the dwarfs. My people chose to rise from the darkness of the underground world and climbed their way to the life giving sun. We chose to leave the tunnels, and build a civilization here. Over time, our culture changed, we became more in touch with nature. Hundreds of years later, we have built ourselves a sprawling kingdom. Like the elves in the lands of the north, we have become more peaceful and not as warlike as our brethren, the dwarves. We are a kind group of people, healers, peace makers. But most look down on us for...whatever reason. Many call us weak because we do not fight, which leads many to look down on us as pathetic. Others say we are useless, nothing more than a people meant to die." A gloomy aura now surrounded the little man. Pep sighed before continuing, both of them having made it down the hill, where Jack lay, groaning in pain. "My people are considered one of the weakest, and that is why I have left home in search of proving that us gnomes are more then cannon fodder. That, and the council told me to come here." Pep said, his gloominess suddenly vanishing, being replaced with a large, happy smile, his pure white skin getting some color back.

Isaiah didn't respond, taking in all the information. So this was a real life gnome huh? Weird, he thought they would be angrier, with a beard and pointy hats. Than again, those were just statues and myths from back home. Sighing, Isaiah decided not to think to much about it, as Pep was already in the move, and Jack had yet to get up. Wait who was the council? Isaiah would've asked but he needed to help Jack up. Grabbing his brother by the shirt, he helped him up. "That hurt bro..." Jack groaned as he stood up, wiping off his red shirt and than wiping the dirt on Isaiah's blue shirt. "Hey! Come on dude..." The black haired boy growled, pushing his brother down again, who landed in his butt, getting his shorts dirty. This went on for a few minutes, both of them getting each other dirty, falling on the ground and such before, covered in dirt, Pep walked up to them. "Pardon me but...are you going to come or should I go get married and live my life?" Pep growled snappily, eyes narrowed and mouth in a tight lipped frown. The brothers quickly got up and mumbled sorry before pep once again smiled.

Leading the way along the dirt path, pep led the trio on the walk to the city in the distance. Along the way they passed by farms, largely spread apart with wheat growing abundantly all around them. "Wow, seems like the farmers here are either really good, or the soil is really fertile. Or a bit of both." Isaiah commented, spotting a farmer sitting atop an ox, plowing the ground to make it ready for planting. Waving at him, the farmer waved back, giving Isaiah a weak smile before looking back down at the ground, focusing on his work. "That is both true and false. The farmers are skilled at their work, using old and new methods to make the wheat grow plentifully. Their children and family usually help them as well. However that is not all. The king of Titus-vale forces them to work longer hours due to the growing amount of people that enter the city. Food is needed, so the farmers-" Pep and the trio stopped as a cow walked slowly by, chickens riding it's back comfortably. Once the cow was out of the way, Pep once again began to speak. "-are forced to work longer hours without rest. This means they work all day, long into the night, sleep for 4-5 hours or so and than get back to work before the sun has risen. This makes them have little to no time with their families, makes them always tired and simply makes their lives miserable." Pep explained, his breath coming a bit quicker, as though he were beginning to get tired.

The brothers didn't say anything, their minds focused on the information they had gotten. A king was doing something so horrible to these people? But...why? A king was a symbol of power, but also a role model for his people. A king kept his people in check, focused on helping them and bettering the city. A king was supposed to be good and just, not corrupt and force his people to work. Isaiah's fists clenched angrily at this. How dare someone do such a thing! If he had the chance he would punch that piece of crap in the face! His thoughts were cut off as he was nearly run over by a speeding carriage carrying fruits and vegetables. Had it not been for Jack pulling him aside, he would've been a pancake on the floor now. "Holy crap! What's his problem?!" Isaiah exclaimed, watching the carriage barrel its way down the dirt path, away from the city. The stomping of hooves followed it as guards passed by, in heavy, metal armor with swords in hand. They had chain vest armor, shields on their backs that had a special insignia. On each shield, in the center of it, was a large, yellow eagle, twin swords crossed over it.

A large red line on one of the guards stood out, signifying him as the leader. "Those are the Titus-vale guards. Disgusting creatures really. Most of them use their power as guards to harass and force the normal folk to do their bidding or be arrested. Most charge high taxes on the poor, and either they pay, or they are arrested. Some of them, however few there are, are still good. Most of them aren't, sadly. They will probably chase down the criminal and force him to pay, letting him go and returning with nothing but the money. That or will return with him because he wasn't able to pay." Pep shook his head, sighing as he once again began to lead them towards the city's looming gates. "Hey pep, so why exactly do we need to meet big Bertha?" Jack questioned, holding a chicken under his arm, petting it softly. "Well, big Bertha...she's probably one of the only people that can help you on your journey. Let's just say she is someon you can trust." Pep said over his shoulder. Neither of the boys responded, the dull roar of a large crowd gathered at the cities gates drowning out their thoughts.

People milled about the cities gates, walking in and out, some with carts full of meats or vegetables for sell, others walking cows or goats. They all looked like...well medieval peasants. Most of them had worn down, brown or gray Raggy clothes. A few people, obviously merchants, stood out in the crowd. Some wore flashy, bright colored clothes, singing or dancing to attract people's attentions as they sold their items just at the edge of the gates. Those that weren't dancing or singing or doing something to catch ones attention, wore regal clothing. Obviously made of the finest silk, with jewels sometimes sewn on, they looked very out of place. Pep lead them through, telling them that if the people would not move, than to push them out of the way. It didn't seem very nice, but it sure helped, and no one complained, much less flinched at the pushing and shoving. Jack especially was having fun, ramming his way through the crowd forcefully, screaming that if they didn't move, he would make them move.

Suddenly, just as Jack was about to pass the gates and enter the city, a mans hand grabbed him by the scruff of the shirt and yanked him back. "Ouch!" Jack yelped, looking over his shoulder at the man that had grabbed him. The man was one of the guards, short sword in hand, not wearing his helmet. "Oy! Your not from around here!" The gourd growled, rising his sword to jacks throat threateningly. "Let go of my brother!" Isaiah growled as he rushed forward, punching the man in the face. "Stop it you two!" Pep snarled, louder and angrier than he probably should've been. Turning their attention to him, all 3 stared silently. "Isaiah, Jack, this is no way to treat the guards. Indeed they are filthy animals, but remember the power they hold. Now apologize." Pep ordered. The guard let go of Jack, looking at pep curiously. The scene didn't go unnoticed, and a large circle of people had formed around them. At Peps order, people began to howl with laughter. "A bunch of kids, taking orders from a GNOME! HAHAAH!" Laughter boomed around them. "Excuse me, but laughing at another person for their race isn't very nice." Pep said, though his small voice was easily drowned out by their laughter. The laughter only escalated as Pep tried again and again to speak, scolding them for their very rude ways. "Sorry dude, but I don't think your getting to them." Jack mumbled as the guards themselves laughed and joked. "Umm...pep? Hey, you ok? Look lets just ignore the, and get going..." Isaiah tried to say, though it didn't seem the gnome was listening to him.

Head held low, eyes closed and hat dangling off to the side of his head, Pep didn't look happy at all. "Pep, seriously, calm down. I know it doesn't feel good, but if your gonna show the world that gnomes aren't useless, you need to push past these guys. Show them your the better man, and than later, the better warrior and so on. Don't sink down to their level." Isaiah softly said, kneeling down to get closer to pep, so he could hear him over the roar of the crowd. "I...I...I..." Peps head snapped up, eyes wide with anger. "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!" Pep growled angrily, raising his hands above his head. "Pep! Dude! Calm down!" Jack exclaimed, trying to calm down the angry gnome. "NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! I AM SICK OF BEING RIDICULED AND MADE FUN OF! YOU WILL ALL FACE THE WRATH OF A GNOME!" Pep howled, his hands glowing green before the ground began to tremble. The earth cracked open, vines shooting out and flailing around, smacking people in the head, gut and back. Screams erupted from the crowd as they began to fall into chaos, with the guard trying desperately to keep themselves safe.

"PEP! Please calm down!" Isaiah yelled over the sound of people screaming. Of course, Pep didn't hear him, and continued his rampage. A vine wrapped around jacks legs and lifted him up, Jack yelling as he was lifted high into the air. "WHOA! NOT COOL PEP! NOT COOL!" Jack yelled before he was thrown away, flying through the air before crashing onto the ground. "Jack!" Isaiah yelled, helplessly watching his brother being hurled away. Turning towards the gnome, Isaiah did the only thing he could do. He kicked pep in the face, knocking him backwards. "OOOF!" Pep huffed as he landed, clutching his face. "Pep, you gotta stop this. If you won't...I'll...ummm...I'll...I don't know, but you won't like it." Thankfully, the magic had left Pep, and the vines stopped the chaos, crashing down to the ground. Helping pep to stand, the gnome guiltily looked up at Isaiah, rubbing his face which was now red from the kick. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to hurt anyone...but you don't know how much it hurts to be made fun of by everyone..." Pep mumbled, sighing.

What followed was...rather easy. After Pep had settled down, Isaiah and Jack helped explain to the guards what and why this happened. Of course they couldn't really hold charges, as pep, even in his calm state, glared at them, silently warning them. The brothers helped clean up the vines, which were than taken by a few merchants to be sold. Life began to return to normal, with the crowd of people bustling around, merchants selling their things, and guards not really doing anything. Turning their attention back to the city, the trio sere about to enter when once again...they were stopped by the guards. "Hey, you three. you are not commoners." Jack snorted and looked at the guard. "Why, what gave you that idea? Could it be your brain finally started to work?" He growled. The guard, same one that had grabbed Jack in the first place, grinned. He was rather tall, around 5'7 or maybe 5'8, with a furry goatee, brown eyes cold and always judging. His mustache was full and thick, covering most of his top lip, making it seem like his mouth was hidden behind the bushy beard. "My name is Domenic, Domenic Warlick. I am the captain of the guards. A messenger has told me that the king himself would like a word with you. Why? I don't know, but unless you want to end up angering your majesty, I suggest you allow me to take you to his castle."

Pep didn't look at all pleased with this turn of events, the frown on his face clearly showing his distaste. "As much as I don't like...his highness...I admit that the best option would be to do as they say. Lead the way Domenic. I'll take you to big Bertha after your meeting with the king. Now, let's get going." Pep began to walk, but was quickly stopped by Domenic. "He wants to see them...alone..." The brothers looked uneasily at Pep. Though they didn't really know the gnome and were simply thrown into this magical and weird world, Pep was probably the only person they could trust. Than again...what he had said could be a lie. Isaiah's head hurt from all this thinking, and jacks...well he didn't think much. "Alright, fine. Let's just hurry up and get this over with..." Isaiah grumbled unhappily. Domenic nodded his head and lead them away, into the city, passed the large crowd and into the bustling city. Pep didn't follow them, simply waving before running away. "Hurry up." Domenic growled, poking the brothers with his sword. "Hey! Watch it! This is the only shirt I got and if you rip it your buying me a new one!" Jack growled, slapping the sword away. Domenic simply smirked and poked Jack again. "You have spirit, but you should heed the little gnomes words. Remember your place in this city, boy." Jack gave up fighting back and simply allowed himself to be lead deeper into the city. "You ready to face the king?" Isaiah's asked his brother, running a hand through his black hair. "You know it!" Both brothers turned to each other before high-fiving.

"HELL YEAH!"


	5. Chapter 5

"Make way! I said make way! MAKE WAY, ANIMALS!" Dominic barked, sword waving around the air threateningly, lingering in wait for any person that should come to close. No one came close. "Hey, maybe you should calm down. People have places to be, and you can't exactly force them to simply make a perfect path for you." Jack grumbled, walking along side his brother who was similarly in a unhappy mood. "Shut up!" Was the only response they got from their escort before the sharp point of a sword pinched their back, forcing them forward. "I don't like this place very much. You?" Jack asked as he looked over to his brother, who nodded his head in silent agreement. By now, the constant poking in the back had left small holes in Jacks red shirt, and Isaiah's blue shirt, though thankfully there weren't any cuts on their skin. "I don't rightfully care if ya like it 'ere! Now pick up the pace!" Came the expected growl from behind them, and the all to familiar poke of the sword to their backs. Running a hand through his red hair, Jack wondered who it would hurt more if he were to turn around and kick Dominic's balls. Than again, his balls were protected by a layer of metal, so Jack figured kicking at it would be useless.

The brothers walked for what seemed like a long time, though it was only 10 minutes of long walking. As they walked, Jack noticed a few things about the city he hadn't noticed before. Buildings, which were brightly colored from the outside and made to look nice, were actually very dull upon closer inspection. Cracks were very visible in the walls of taverns and homes, doors held by rusty hinges, while some houses didn't even have doors. "You seeing what I'm seeing?" Isaiah nodded at his brothers words, studying the buildings as he did. Dominic lead them into what was probably considered the high class, though the buildings here had the same look as those nearer to the entrance of the city. While the buildings in the higher class had significantly brighter colors and much more flashy decorations, the cracks stayed, and the colors, while beautiful, has the same worn down and old texture. The people living in here wore much nicer clothes. Silken dresses donned on most women, hats with feathers on them perched happily on a few of their heads. Men wore nice outfits, suits of the finest leathers, most with capes of different colors flowing behind them. Some men didn't wear the flashy capes, some wearing a vest that seemed to restrain the long white puffy sleeves. Clothing of the paupers, or something like that, Isaiah recalled from history class. Long, dark pants stretched down their legs, stopping suddenly to show off elegantly made leather boots, usually with some form of gold on the buckle or maybe in the outlines of it.

"I'm gonna guess this is the high class area?" Isaiah grumbled, a man with a cane rudely shoving past him, not even bothering to say sorry, much less look at them. "Indeed. This area is called Marina ward, named after one of the bravest Knights this city could ever had. She saved hundreds of lives in a gruesome battle. She died protecting the people she cared about, leading a troop of 3 of her finest soldiers against an entire army...truly something to be remembered." Dominic explained, his gruff voice which was usually angry and teetering on the brink of rage, now sounded a bit sad. A sort of quiet reverence was also in his voice, though he quickly coughed and poked them forward. "Never mind that. Keep walking." Jack snorted and shook his head. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa! You just told us about a FEMALE KNIGHT. A female knight who saved hundreds of people's lives in a war. You can't just brush that off dude! Come on, tell us the story! How did she do it?" Dominic growled at Jack, not to happy about all the questions he was receiving. "Shut up! You don't need to worry about her. Just keep walking."

Jacks brother was just as eager, just as curious to know about this special knight. A knight that was able to hold her own, with 2 others, against an entire army, to save the people she loved. "My brothers right. You can't tell us so little about a female knight, and than not expect us to want to know more. I mean, she and 2 other people saved hundreds of lives by stopping an army, by THEMSELVES! Not only did she save hundreds of lives, it's a FEMALE knight. While it isn't unheard of in history, most Knights are male, only maybe 5 female Knights in existence are known." Dominic rolled his eyes, stopping suddenly so he didn't stab the boys in the back. The brothers had come to a sudden halt, looking over their shoulders at him with expectant looks. "What? What do you want? Keep moving." The brothers didn't budge, simply staring at Dominic, waiting for him to speak. Sighing, the guard rolled his eyes and face-palmed. "If I tell you about her will you continue to walk?" Both brothers nodded their heads eagerly and once again began to walk. "Now before I start telling you about Marina, know first that I don't have every bit of information. Most of what is known about her is mixed legend, fire and facts. Her history has been mixed up to make the story better, so don't take everything I say to heart."

The brothers both nodded in understanding, continuing to walk in silence. Dominic didn't say anything for a few minutes, seemingly gathering himself before speaking. "Marina was a good woman. Everyone here in raven-dale loved her. She was renowned for her kindness, her bravery, and her a smile that never seemed to waver, not even in the toughest of situations. During her early life as a child and a teenager, she was constantly bullied, made fun of because of her dreams. Men would say things like, 'stupid girl! Your never going to be a knight! Get back in the kitchen where you belong!' Woman would say things like, 'Ugh, look at that disgusting hag. No man will ever want her! And she dreams of being a knight! Ha! Pathetic!' Marinas life wasn't easy, and many times she caught herself wondering if her dreams were indeed stupid and useless. At one point she actually gave up, but a close friend of hers helped her get back on track and once again strive to become a knight. Her life went on, with people always doubting and looking down on her for her beliefs and dreams. It wasn't until she was around the age of 30, after having saved a small village from a goblin raid did she begin to get respect. The king deemed her action of saving the village single-handedly a sign that she was worthy of becoming a knight. From there, Marina created a small group of female Knights, known as the Asagra, battalion of the sun. Her and her warriors roamed the land, destroying evil at the heart before it ever had a chance to rise. She..."

Dominic had stopped walking, Jack and Isaiah having turned around to look at him. A look of awe and wonder was on the guards face, sparkling in his eyes. With a wide smile he looked to them and continued telling the story. "She and her battalion were known around the world, spreading good and happiness every where they went. It seemed as though nothing would stop them, and in truth, nothing really did. 'With swords at the ready, shields up, the battalion does not give up!' That was their motto, and every time they went into battle, they would yell it at the top of their lungs, striking fear into the hearts of any evil that would be stupid enough to fight them. Many more knights joined them, hundreds of woman that were once put down for their dreams were now the saving grace of the land." Dominic was nearly jumping with glee, his voice having risen to nearly a shout, and he brothers also almost jumping at the story. A frown however began to steal the joy from Dominic's once smiling face, turning the happiness the guard once had into a sad look. "However...as any adventurer and keeper of good, there comes the danger of death." Sighing, Dominic ran a hand through his hair. "Her fame came at a cost, and eventually, a growing number of evil creatures and people wanted her dead, willing to pay good money for her head on a silver platter. She knew eventually they were gonna come for her, and sadly, they came for her during a day where happiness was supposed to roam the land. During winter, their is a celebration known as Rogri. People spend time with their families during this day, exchanging gifts between each other. A day to spend time with those you love most." Jack smiled and cut in before Dominic could continue. "So you guys have christmas here to?" The guard gave him a confused, blank stare.

"Christmas. You know, where you set up a tree and Santa comes around delivering presents to all the good little boys and girls." Dominic looked disgusted. "Why would you cut a tree down and set it up in your house? And why would I let a random saint enter my house and put gifts under the tree?" Jack looked to Isaiah for help, though none would come, as his brother was to busy laughing. Dominic shook his head and continued. "As I was saying, don't interrupt again. Let me finish. Ahem, now where was I? Oh yes, so during Rogri day, when snow covers the land in a blanket of white, a huge army full of goblins, orcs and trolls came storming into the city, tearing the place apart. Their target were the barracks of the sun, which had been built especially for the battalion." Once again, Jack interrupted. "Well that's stupid. Nobody's gonna be in there since there all with their families, not at the barracks." Dominic smiled, but shook his head. "You would think, however the battalion spent their holidays at the barracks, making it look nice and clearing a few rooms so families can spend time with each other. So, the army stormed it's way towards the barracks, slaughtering that got in their way. They were so quick the battalion barely had time to prepare, and sadly, most of the battalion died, besides Marina and 2 of her comrades. They were quicker than the army and escaped their grasp, herding the surviving people away and towards a secret exit, that would lead them out of the city in safety. However goblins, as stupid as they are, still have brains, and use them very well when needed to.

The escaping people were found, and the army gave chase, howling battle cries in glee at the fact that the battalion was dead. However, they didn't kill everyone, and even with only 3 people, Marina stood her ground against them. No one knows what happened, only that after having escaped, the sound of battle and screaming rang through the air. A few days later, once they had come back to the city, they found the entire army defeated, and the bodies of Marina and her last 2 soldiers laying dead on the ground. Till this day her legend lives on, strong as ever. Some say there are is a group of woman who have continued the battalion of the sun in secret, though no one knows if it's true or not." Jack and Isaiah's eyes were wide open, jaws reaching to the floor in awe.

"That's...amazing..."

"Indeed."

"Something like that deserves a statue, or a memorial or something. I mean, she saved an entire city." Isaiah murmured, a hand on his chin in thought.

"They did build one, however it was taken down and thrown somewhere in the sewers by our newest king who thought it was a waste of space, and instead made it into a market area, which no one really goes to." Dominic explained, sighing and giving a nasty look at the ground, as though it was the reason the statue was taken down.

"The king did that? Bro that's messed up! What kind of cold hearted sack of-" Jack didn't get to finish, a sword being pressed to his throat.

"While I may not agree with my kings decisions, he is still king, and I will serve him loyally regardless. Watch what you say, boy." Dominic hissed, slowly lowering the deadly edge of the weapon. "Now, you've heard the story, so keep moving. We don't got all day." Grudgingly, the brothers continued to move once more, trudging along the many winding streets of Marian ward. Many people they passed by gave them strange looks, some confused, others disgusted, as though they were filthy and needed a serious change of clothes. Eventually, however, they left the more luxurious houses of Marian ward and came upon a set of stairs. These stairs lead diagonally upwards, to a set of large, wooden doors laced with strong steel to keep it in place, and possibly support its heavy frame.

"Stairs...my old enemy...we meet again..." Isaiah and Jack both grumbled in sync. Turning to look at each other, the brothers shook hands before turning back to the stairs.

"On your mark." Isaiah loudly said, taking a running position.

"Get set."

"GO!" The brothers took off like bullets, running up the stairs in a race to get to the top.

Dominic was helpless to stop them, running after them, though stopping quickly once he realized he wouldn't catch them. Huffing and puffing the brothers climbed, toe to toe. For each step one of them took, the other was right besides him, never straying. It was a fun little game the brothers had played, testing to see who was the better, though they seemed to always end in ties or the occasional winner, which could be either of them.

"Your junk food is really slowing you down Jack!" Isaiah commented casually as he ran, getting a small lead on his brother.

"ARE YOU KIDDING?! ITS EMPOWERING!" Jack howled, and with a sudden burst of energy, Jack was in the lead, racing faster than his brother had ever seen him run, screaming something about donuts and gold, which was of course drowned out by the startled yells of guards that stood at the door. By the time Isaiah's head poked above the last step and looked upon the grand doors, Jack had been taken down, pinned to the ground by a guard with a sword at his throat. "Whoa whoa! Calm down guys! We were just racing! I'm sorry about my brother, he can be really stupid at times." The guards reluctantly got off of Jack, allowing him to stand up and brush off the dust from his clothes. "Ha! I win!" Jack smiled victoriously, raising his hand in the air like someone who had just won a medal for track.

"I don't know what you sacrificed to what God, but that shouldn't have been possible." Isaiah grumbled, slapping his brother on the back of the head, though a smile played on his lips. A few seconds later, Dominic came huffing up the stairs, panting much harder than they were, and looking very tired. "Hey...don't...don't do that...ever again...or I'll...I'll throw you in jail..." Huffed Dominic weakly, trying hard to regain his breathing. The brothers could only smile and laugh at the guards expense, though their smiles were wiped away as Dominic growled and threw a punch at them, forcing them to duck. "WHOA! Calm down! We're just having a bit of fun!" Dominic grumbled unhappily at Isaiah's words, but didn't try anything else, nudging them forward once again.

The wooden doors slowly opened inward with a unhappy groan, as though it didn't want to be opened and would have much rather preferred to stay closed. What lay inside could only be described as beautiful, and even that didn't do it any justice. The hall way leading deeper into the castle was full of elegance. Marble pillars supported the ceiling, which was covered in hundreds of paintings. The floor was also made of marble, with a a red dragon snaking its way across the floor, perfectly painted to resemble a dragon as though it was frozen inside the marble. The walls held beautiful suits of armor, which were more for show than actual use. Golden helmets, delicate swords and the most intricately made breastplates hung or were racked against the walls.

Isaiah stared in awe as he passed by, the amount of creations seemingly endless, that was, until he ran into the door step the end of the hallway. "Ouch..." He groaned in protest, rubbing his nose while his brother laughed at him. Dominic pushed the smaller doors opened, which groaned in protest just as the ones before had. "Just keep walking." Dominic grumbled, still grumpy about being forced to run up a long flight of stairs just to catch up to them. As they entered the next hallway, Isaiah's eyes wandered over...nothing. The entire hallway was empty! It was as if it had been looted and left there, barren and without any furnishings.

While the marble pillars still stood, (about 15 in symmetrical rows, about 20 feet high) they looked old and shabby, covered in the tiniest layer of dust. "What the heck happened here?" Jack curiously asked, looking around the very dull and dimly lit hallway. Unlike the area before, which was brightly lit and full of beauty, this area was dimly lit, shadows dancing along the floor happily as they passed by. "This area was once a dining area for the workers, but was taken down because the king decided they didn't need it anymore. Workers now eat outside, or somewhere that isn't near the king."

With every answer that Dominic gave them, the king seemed to become more and more cold. What kindve ruler would do something so mean? What if it rained? We're the workers forced to be outside in the cold? Isaiah didn't really like how this was going, and though he couldn't do anything about it, he sorely wished he could punch the king in the face. At the end of the bland hallway, Dominic stopped them. The door seemed to be the only thing that wasn't bland, and was actually very clean and looked to be brand new. Dominic stood in front of them. "Allow me to introduce you boys to our mighty king. Jeffrey the great!"

Time seemed to slow down as wooden doors opened, light flooding out and blinding the boys and forcing them to cover their eyes. Soft music, like a banjo being gently strummed, echoed around them. Stepping forward and into the blinding light, Isaiah let his eyes adjust, blinking the, rapidly to go them used to the light before he could finally see. Gasping, Isaiah stood in awe as he gazed upon the throne room, and the king. A fine red carpet stretched across the ground, all the way to the edge of the throne. A golden throne stood in all its glory, light shining off of it. Upon the throne sat...a midget? Yes, what appeared to be a midget sat on the smaller than norms, throne, a wide smile on his face. Clothed in a silver business suit, a blue tie and with hair that looked almost exactly like Elvis hair, the king could only be described as awesome. "HELLO BOYS! I am king Jeffrey, and welcome, to my kingdom."


End file.
